The popular Melba apple tree

Gardening is not easy and requires careful attention. The most common horticultural crop is the apple tree. The choice of the variety that you will plant should be approached with special enthusiasm. In order to choose the right apple variety, you need to find out everything about this or that variety of this culture. This article describes the Melba apple tree.

Apple Melba: characteristics of the variety

apple melba

Melba is one of the most widespread and well-known varieties. He is known all over the world. The variety was bred in Canada in the 19th century. The apple tree got its name from the name of the singer, who was popular and toured all over the world in those years.

Initially, the breeders did not know what kind of variety they were breeding. But after receiving the first harvests, the apple tree began to be distributed to European countries, as well as to Russia.

Later, in the 20th century, the apple tree was recognized in the state register, only it had a slightly different name, without the soft sign "Melba". Well, as we know, the old is always the old. Therefore, to this day, the apple tree is called with the soft sign "Melba".

In general, this variety does not like the cold, so it is grown only in warm climates. In the cold, apple trees did not take root and did not become widespread in the northern regions.

The Far East did not like Melba either. But in other regions throughout Russia and Europe, the Melba apple tree takes root. And therefore it is widespread.

The Melba apple tree also has varieties. The most common is Red Melba (which means red melba). This variety is frost-resistant.

The note!

Apple trees of this variety begin to bear fruit only in the third and fourth year. The harvest will delight you with its taste, transportability, and the fact that fresh fruits can lie for a very long time.

Melba apple tree - description

Height:

The Melba apple tree is not particularly tall, it is considered a medium-sized tree.

According to observations, you can see that the height of the tree never exceeds 3 m. Although breeders claim that the apple tree can grow up to 4 m in height.

Width:

In general, it should be said that a tree only at the age of 4-5 years begins to form its crown. Until that time, the crown has a columnar shape.

The crown of this variety grows rounded, slightly elongated upward. The tree itself is lush in width, it can reach 7 m. Of course, we mean the crown, not the trunk of the tree.

The trunk is wide, dark brown in color. Intense light green color. Has slightly elongated leaves. The peculiarity of this variety is that the branches are not very wide, but nevertheless they are lowered down.

And what will the tasters tell us about this variety?

Tasters say that the fruits are large, round, slightly elongated downward, in shape. Apples are usually yellow-green in color with red stripes. And their peel is delicious. From the outside, it may seem rough and dense, but in fact it is delicate and pleasant to the taste.

By weight, the fruits reach 120 - 135 grams, but they say that they are much larger when they are slightly overripe.

As you know, tasters have a special scale by which they measure the taste of fruits, their appearance, and in general determine the quality of the variety. The scale is five-point. So, the Melba variety gets 4.5 points on a five-point scale.

But this is an average rating, and each taster has his own personal opinion and his own adequate assessment of the variety.

Self-fertility.

Breeders call this variety self-pollinator, self-fertilization.But, unfortunately, this type of apple crop is distinguished by low self-pollination capabilities. Therefore, gardeners advise beginners to plant this variety along with other pollinators of apple trees.

Cold resistance.

If we talk about the tolerance of cold weather, we can say that the Melba apple tree is tolerant. She has an average winter hardiness. Breeding varieties of this species are more resistant to cold weather. Like Melba Red and Melba's Daughter.

What varieties are pollinators.

It is important to choose the right pollinator for the Melba apple tree, as otherwise it is impossible to get a good harvest. Otherwise, there is a high probability that the apple tree will simply stand all summer without harvest and without fruit.

Therefore, it is worth noting that good pollinators for the Melba apple tree are:

1) Variety Antonovka. This variety is best known as Antonov apples, about which there are so many stories and books.

2) Suislep apple tree;

3) Borovinka;

4) Stark Erlist;

5) Chinese Bellefleur.

However, the best pollinator is the Borovinka apple variety.

Fruiting and productivity.

Fruiting in an apple tree is interesting. So, after planting in the fourth year, the apple tree gives a good harvest and bears fruit for exactly 4 years. But already after 12 years of fruiting alternate.

It happens as follows: the year the apple tree brings a good harvest, and the other year the apple tree rests and simply pleases us with its beautiful leaves and crown.

It is worth noting that the yield of this tree is great. It is several times higher than the yield of ordinary dwarf trees, as well as forest apple trees.

How much is a Melba seedling.

Now let's move on to the most interesting question. We learned what the Melba apple tree looks like. How does it differ from other varieties, why is it better. How much it bears and how it bears. We learned that it needs to be pollinated with other trees. And now let's talk about how much a seedling of such an apple tree Melba costs.

In general, the prices for almost all products are different in different regions. Somewhere below, somewhere above. So, gardening has not been spared this cyclicality. Therefore, for a better price comparison, let's move on to the next structure. Let's analyze several regions and the cost of one seedling in each of them.

In the regions, the cost of a seedling will differ.

So, in St. Petersburg and Moscow, as well as in the surrounding areas, seedlings aged from 3 to 5 years will range from 1000 to 6000 rubles.

And in the Western region, near the city of Vologda, the price of a 3-year-old seedling is 320 rubles, and for a four-year old, 420 rubles.

In the Krasnodar Territory, a 3-year-old seedling costs 220 rubles and 460 rubles at the age of 4.

Finally, in the Ural Federal District, near the city of Yekaterinburg, a seedling at the age of 3 years costs 300 rubles, deposition at the age of 4 years 400 rubles.

Since the Melba apple variety has been known for a long time, there have been decent reviews about it. Let's look at a few of them now.

Apple-tree Melba - reviews of gardeners

Sergey from Rostov-on-Don.

“Since childhood, I have grown fond of this variety. And all because I often visited my grandmother in the village. And she had beautiful Melba apple trees. The apples are small but juicy. The skin is soft and tasty. This is how I remember my grandmother's apples "

And this is what Nikolai from the Krasnodar Territory tells us.

“I discovered this variety relatively recently. But I was already convinced that this is a wonderful culture. When the apple trees are in bloom, there is a wonderful scent throughout the garden. I have four apple trees of this variety. "

Olga is from the Nizhny Novgorod region.

“I have been growing the Melba apple tree for a very long time. And I can say it's just a miracle. And it doesn't matter at all whether it is blooming or already bearing fruit, it is already just pleasant to look at it. My Melba is already 25 years old, and I understand that the inevitable goodbye to her will come soon. But I will say unequivocally, I will buy this variety again and will grow it. "

When does the Melba apple variety begin to bear fruit?

The variety blooms in early spring, flowers in color from white to pink with purple veins.The fruits ripen with good regularity. Starting from 4 years after planting, seedlings, if they were grown from scratch, or from 4 years of apple tree life.

Begins to bear fruit especially abundantly from the 8th year of life. Later, after the second decade of life, fruiting begins to alternate, the year is a bountiful harvest, the year is the calmness of the apple tree.

Apples ripen at the end of summer. When harvested manually, the fruits can lie safe and sound for several weeks or even months. When the apples are fully ripe, they begin to fall off on their own, the apple tree throws off the excess load. It is worth noting that the harvest must be monitored, otherwise the apples will be beaten.

By weight, apples are quite heavy, 120-200 grams.

It is worth noting that the fruiting period is uneven, and each apple ripens individually. This feature allows you to collect fresh fruits up to one and a half months.

The fruits themselves are sour, which indicates a large amount of nutrients, acids and minerals.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

TO positive the characteristics of the variety include:

- The tree gives an early harvest;

- Grows very quickly;

- The tree blooms beautifully, exudes a pleasant smell during flowering;

- Also a plus can be considered the fact that the fruits of this variety are highly durable. They are adapted for long-term storage and transportation.

- Apples are suitable for making jams, various juices, porridge purees.

Unfortunately, the variety also has minuses:

- Low frost resistance. In the event of a sharp drop in temperature, the seedling can easily die.

- The second disadvantage is the low self-fertility of the tree. This is an extra cost for pollinators, for the purchase of new trees.

- The third minus is the uncontrolled frequency of the harvest after ten years of age.

- Perhaps the most striking disadvantage is low immunity to scab.

Varieties of varieties

The variety has different varieties - hybrids with a similar name.

Hybrids differ from the parent in better environmental resistance.

So, one of the apple tree hybrids is Melba Daughter.

This variety is highly resistant to cold weather and highly resistant to scab disease. On average, each apple weighs 130 grams, and the total harvest of an adult tree is 35 kg.

The fruits are different in color. They are either striped, the stripes are pink. Or they differ in sides, which are also mostly pink.

It has a high yield of up to 80 kilograms; another apple hybrid is Melba Red.

This variety has greenish-pink spots under the skin. The weight of one apple reaches 180 - 200 grams.

Variety care

Now let's move on to the most important issues. So how do you care for a seedling and an already mature tree?

Young trees should be planted in spring or late autumn. If the soil is not loamy, it must be specially prepared.

Peat, clay, sand, and manure are mixed with the ground. All this is poured into the already prepared hole for the seedling, the seedling is placed. Then all this is sprinkled with the resulting composition, then watered abundantly.

The hole for the seedling should be special, no more than 0.8 m wide and no more than 1 m long. You also need to pay attention to the seedling itself before planting.

If there are many leaves on it, then you need to bare the crown. And if there are no leaves and the seedling is very young, then you should definitely hold it in water for several days so that the stem is saturated with moisture.

If the stem is thin, and it seems that it is about to break, you need to help the young tree: buy a peg nearby and tie it up.

It is important to pay attention to whether there is underground water flowing nearby. If so, it is important to use drainage or special soil. Because excess moisture is contraindicated for a young tree.

When planting any seedling, pruning is required. Young, not yet experienced gardeners may wonder why? Well, there is an answer to this question.

Primarily, pruning is important to rejuvenate the seedling.And it is carried out most often in early spring, when the juice has not yet had time to enter the seedling. Pruning is also needed to remove the roots.

Every gardener should be familiar with the concept of sanitary pruning. It lies in the fact that in addition to rejuvenating the seedling, dried and broken branches are removed. The trunk also needs to be shortened, no more than 1/3 of the entire length.

Top dressing is very important for the apple tree. There are three different types of feeding. Now we will talk about them in more detail.

• In spring, Melba is fed as follows. Before flowering, the soil is mixed, dug up with humus, superphosphate, ash, and potassium are added.

• In the summer, the procedure looks different. The land is fed with manure, droppings are natural nitrogenous fertilizing. But there are also artificial, industrial ones such as urea.

• The last feeding of the tree is done in the fall. Around October. Why October? Because it is at this time that the harvest comes to an end. At this time, the tree is fed with potassium chloride and compost.

It is also worth filling in one very important thing. This variety does not like excess moisture. Therefore, the tree should be watered only in particularly dry weather, when calculating 10 liters per tree.

Diseases and pests

There are a number of pests that can harm an apple tree. Now about them in more detail.

• We know that the bark beetle and ticks damage the bark of trees. So, for this apple tree they are no exception. It is worth taking protective measures against these pests.

• Who usually damages foliage? Naturally, caterpillars and beetles. Therefore, it is worth treating the wood.

• Hated by all gardeners, aphids also love to hit the tree. The sap of the apple tree thereby kills the tree.

• Probably the most disgusting pests are moths. They, like wild ones, pounce on the fruits and make them unfit for eating.

Of course, many will now ask themselves questions, but how to protect an apple tree from these pests? The answer, of course, is. A huge number of preparations, sprayers, as well as dressings are presented on the horticultural market. They also protect the apple tree from these pests.

It is worth taking care of the protection of the apple tree in winter. It is worth covering the seedling with a special cloth that is sold in gardening stores. This will protect the seedling and tree from rodents.

Whitewashing of the trunk can also help from the invasion of pests. You can also buy whitewash at the store.

One of the most common and nasty diseases that affects this variety is scab.

As people know, the best treatment is prevention. Therefore, you should regularly carry out top dressing, pruning. Carry out cleaning of fallen leaves and already rotten fallen apples. In fact, this is the most effective pest rescue method.

In addition to preventive actions, it is worth using chemical treatment, which is carried out in three stages:

- Before the tree begins to bloom, the trunk is treated with ammonium nitrate and Bordeaux liquid. It is important to do this just before flowering.

- During flowering, the composition of the solution, as well as the treatment sites, remain the same.

- After the first apples have appeared on the tree, the same procedure is carried out after 2 weeks.

If you find scab on your tree, you should carry out the following procedures:

- Dissolve 10 tablets of gamair bactericide according to the following recipe. One tablet per 1 liter, that is, in 10 liters you put these 10 tablets. Spray with this solution three times per season. It is necessary to make a new solution each time.

- Dissolving 10 phytolavin tablets in 10 liters of water. Spraying is carried out 4 times per season.

There are a number of equally effective remedies that can be used to spray an apple tree during a scab disease.

Some of them are: ammonium sulfate, potassium salt, potassium and ammonium nitrate.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to say that the Melba apple tree is the owner of some of the most delicious and healthy fruits.Reviews about this variety are only positive. This characterizes the apple tree from a very good side.

Therefore, it is widely known and appreciated by gardeners and apple lovers.